'Spy Game' is no 'Avengers'

Today's TV

March 03, 1997|By Chris Kaltenbach | Chris Kaltenbach,SUN STAFF

Tonight features a handful of debuting or returning series, plus some tough viewing on Cinemax.

Spy Game" (8 p.m.-9 p.m., WMAR, Channel 2) -- This latest TV incarnation of spy-vs.-spy wants so badly to be a '90s version of "The Avengers" that it even drags in poor Patrick Macnee for a cameo. It isn't; the plot's pretty thin, and the male lead (Linden Ashby) is pretty wooden. That said, Allison Smith has a lot of fun as the spy, and the frequent fisticuffs are nicely choreographed. All in all, it's a lot of dumb fun.ABC.

"Diabetes: What You Need to Know" (8 p.m.-9: 30 p.m., MPT, Channels 22 and 67) -- Frank Vinicor, former president of the American Diabetes Association, is host for this look at detecting, treating and managing the disease. The show features interviews with diabetics, including Orioles public address announcer Rex Barney.

"Everybody Loves Raymond" (8: 30 p.m.-9 p.m., WJZ, Channel 13) -- Raymond and the gang celebrate their new day by bringing in a stray dog. CBS.

"Ink" (9: 30 p.m.-10 p.m., WJZ, Channel 13) -- Kirstie Alley stops by to lend her "Cheers" co-star Ted Danson a hand. She plays Kate's sister, Dahlia, who has just written a book about how to attract a man and decides to test her method on Mike (Danson). CBS.

"EZ Streets" (10 p.m.-11 p.m., WJZ, Channel 13) -- Despite debuting to near-universal critical acclaim, this crime drama was pulled by CBS after only two episodes last October. The series follows the lives of Det. Cameron Quinn (Ken Olin, of "thirtysomething") and Danny Rooney (Jason Gedrick, "Murder One"), who's just been released from prison. Tonight, Rooney's scuzzy friend Murtha (Joe Pantoliano) shoots a drug dealer, inviting all sorts of nasty retaliation. And Quinn is offered a bribe. CBS.

Cable

"Daria" (10: 30 p.m.-11 p.m., MTV) -- That rarest of creatures, a friend to Beavis and Butt-head, gets a show to call her own.

"Calling the Ghosts: A Story About Rape, War and Women" (11 p.m.-12: 05 a.m., Cinemax) -- The utter depravity of the civil war that tore apart Yugoslavia is made plain in this documentary by Mandy Jacobson and Karmen Jelincic. The film, which debuted at the Toronto Film Festival last fall, tells the story of two Bosnian women who, in 1992, spent four months in a prison camp being raped and tortured by Serbian commanders and guards.